The Ridiculous Rise of Ayn Rand - The Conversation. Interview with CBS’s Mike Wallace, 1959.
When the literary editor of The New Republic asked me to review two new books on Ayn Rand three years ago, I readily agreed. Rand, the Russian-born writer known for her take-no-prisoners defense of capitalism, was beginning to come back into vogue among conservatives, and I recalled hearing that there was a congressman from Wisconsin who was singing her praises and assigning her writings to his staff.
I had had my own flirtation with Rand, when I was 18, and although it lasted less than a year, I could never forget a college classmate who kept extensive index cards ready so that he could quote her whenever he deemed the situation appropriate. The two books were interesting, indeed fascinating. The Truth About Makers and Takers: We Are All the Takers - Derek Thompson. Mitt Romney's 47% moment breathed new life into the idea that the U.S. is divided between "the makers" and "the takers.
" The story goes like this. There are those who make money and pay taxes: The top 10% of earners pay 70% of federal income taxes. And there are those who take money and don't pay taxes: About half of Americans live in households that receive direct government benefits, like Medicare, Social Security, or food stamps. A similar share of the country doesn't owe federal income taxes.
I have three problems with this storyline. First, if you live in the United States, you're a Taker. Second, if you work in the United States, you're a Maker. Here are two nice graphs, from Tax Policy Center data. Third, rather than divide the country into arbitrary and misleading categories of Makers and Takers when all workers are making and all citizens are taking, we should talk about how to make more work to improve the benefits and services we're taking from government.
Ayn Rand Has Finally Caught the Attention of Scholars - Research. What Was Ayn Rand Wrong About? Why Ayn Rand Is Wrong (and Why It Matters): Levi Asher: Amazon.com. What is wrong with Ayn Rand's Objectivism? If it were an article or a short story, I'd have read it already.
But reading 1000+ pages of something I don't enjoy is almost psychological torture. I did skim a couple of cliff notes versions though ( and ). I see your point. I read that her novels contain a lot of monologues by her characters which are pages in length, if this is true she would be very preachy. I'm still tempted to read her other two subsequent novels however, if for no other reason than to not remain ignorant of their message. Yeah, it's a fine line. I quoted a passage from one of your links on her thoughts on altruism: Rand regards goodwill towards others, or a generalized benevolence, as an offshoot of proper self-love, with no independent source in human nature.
As a moral code, altruism is impractical, because its requirements are contrary to the requirements of life and happiness, both the agent's and other people's. But her polemics on how it should be applied to modern society does sound rather extreme. Criticisms of Ayn Rand and other Objectivists. The links below go to materials criticizing Ayn Rand and/or other Objectivists on a personal or institutional basis.
Criticisms of Objectivist ideas and parodies of Objectivism are documented on separate pages. There is also a separate page covering the dispute between ARI and TOC. Ayn Rand Was Wrong. The relationship of libertarianism and religion is a long and stormy one.
It cannot be denied that Ayn Rand has had a long, strong and deep relationship with libertarianism. Although she dismissed us as "hippies of the right" (pronounced "ippes of de racht") many of our number are still enthralled by her, inspired by her, and in debt to her for first introducing us to the moral case for free enterprise. I certainly include myself in this category. Top 10 Reasons Ayn Rand was Dead Wrong - Sales Machine. Last Updated Apr 12, 2011 9:03 AM EDT RELATED POSTS: This post is about an absurd philosophy that got sold to the world of business and government, creating a world of havoc in the United States.
The philosophy, called "Objectivism," came from the hack writer Ayn Rand, whose disciple is Alan Greenspan, architect of the great recession. Objectivism is important to sales professionals because it's the kind of philosophy that, if you believe in it, you're going to screw up your ability to sell effectively. As a profession, Sales has moved beyond the attempt to manipulate people selfishly for one's own ends, which is how Objectivism plays itself out in the real world. Most successful sales professionals feel that they are in service to something greater than themselves. 1) Reality is an objective absolute. Everything I know about life and business says that the above philosophy is a total crock. Reader (87) William Buckley on Ayn Rand & Atlas Shrugged. Ayn Rand Interview with Tom Snyder, (1 of 3) The 1959 Mike Wallace Ayn Rand Interview. AYN RAND NATION discussed on the Ayona Show, March 9, 2012. AYN RAND NATION on CNBC's Squawk Box 2-28-12.
Ayn Rand Nation: Look Elsewhere To Learn About Ayn Rand. John Galt. John Galt is a character in Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged (1957).
Although he is not identified by name until the last third of the novel, he is the object of its often-repeated question "Who is John Galt? " and of the quest to discover the answer. As the plot unfolds, Galt is acknowledged to be a philosopher and inventor; he believes in the power and glory of the human mind, and the right of the individual to use his/her mind solely for him/herself. He serves as a highly individualist counterpoint to the collectivist social and economic structure depicted in the novel, in which society is based on oppressive bureaucratic functionaries and a culture that embraces mediocrity in the name of egalitarianism, which the novel interprets as the end result of socialistic idealism.
Character biography[edit] Stephen Colbert vs Ayn Rand? Ayn Rand, Objectivism, and Individualism.